Mediterranean Shipping Co.

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) is the world’s second largest shipping line. The privately owned company was founded in 1970 in Geneva, Switzerland. It operates worldwide, serving 6 continents and calling at 316 ports.

As of mid-August 2014, MSC operates 500 vessels with a combined capacity of more than 2.5 million TEUs (20-foot-equivalent units), according to Alphaliner. The company employs 29,000 people.

According to Alphaliner, MSC has the largest orderbook of any container carrier, at 42 vessels with a combined capacity of more than 480,000 TEUs as of mid-August 2014.

MSC was the second-ranked container carrier in U.S containerized import trade in 2013, with volume of 1,776,046 TEUs, up 3.4 percent year-over-year, giving it market share of 9.8 percent. It was No. 1 in U.S. containerized export trade in 2013, with volume of 1,558,214 TEUs, up 2.2 percent year-over-year and market share of 12.2 percent. For more carrier rankings see the JOC’s Top 40 Container Carriers special topic.

In the wake of the rejection of the P3 Network, MSC and Maersk Line have announced plans to form a new vessel-sharing agreement, dubbed “2M,” subject to regulatory approval.

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Mediterranean Shipping Co. said Tuesday that it’s still discussing allowing Hyundai Merchant Marine into the 2M Alliance, in direct contrast to its alliance partner, Maersk Line, telling the market Friday that a formal membership is off the table.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. said it will use Inttra’s eVGM software to receive shippers’ submissions of verified gross mass, which will be required July 1 under the International Maritime Organization’s Safety of Life at Sea amendment.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. has expanded the port rotation of its India-South Africa service by introducing a direct call at Hazira, a privately-operated cargo complex on India’s west coast, in an attempt to pick up additional hinterland cargo.

CMA CGM and Cosco are leading efforts to create a new vessel-sharing alliance that could include Evergreen Line and OOCL and would shake up three of the four major east-west carrier groupings, the Alphaliner newsletter reported.